Blood Price
by Lady S
Summary: Every one has secrets. Emma's will tear her away from Mutant X. *Complete*
1. Legel Stuff

Title: Blood Price  
  
Author: Lady S  
  
E-Mail: ladysewalton@yahoo.com  
  
Summary: Everyone has secrets. Emma's will tear her away from Mutant X.  
  
Pairing's: Eventually it'll Adam/Emma  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Mutant X, I don't know who does, but whoever they are, good for them!  
  
Author's Notes: I have been waiting for someone to post Mutant X. I'm so glad there's a category now. I'm not sure which shipper I side with; I can see almost all of them. So I'm sure I'll write all of them eventually. For this fic it will be the pairing you saw above. I'm not sure of Emma's background, so I may have to broken from cannon for this piece. Sorry.  
  
Enjoy!  
And be sure to review...  
  
  
SEW  
Lady S 


	2. Chapter One

Blood Price: Chapter One  
  
  
Cross-legged on the platform Emma sat with her eyes closed, listening.  
  
She could hear Jesse typing away on the console; Brennan turning the page as he lounged by the water pond. And she could hear Adam as he entered the main room of the Sanctuary; the hiss of the door as it slid shut behind him when he exited the lab. Breathing in and out she listened to her world, the sounds she knew and the ones she didn't. The trickle of the water running over the rocks; the incessant prattling of Proxy Blue as she informed the crowds on a muted level.   
  
There was another noise that she had never heard before; it wasn't one that she heard with her ears but rather with her mind. Furrowing her brow she tried to focus in on it, to find out what it was, where it was coming from. In the back of her mind she knew it, but Emma couldn't place it, couldn't give the noise a name.  
  
"You all are going to love me!"  
  
Opening her eyes Emma looked down at the young woman who had just entered the room behind Adam, her coat open and drifting out behind her as she walked. Emma could feel the excitement that was coming from the feral even without using her gifts, it was obvious in everything about her, from the snap in her eyes to the spring in her step. Something had Shalimar in a tizzy, and Emma suspected it was good news.  
  
"What's up, Shalimar?" Jesse called as he glanced up from the console.  
  
"You look like the cat that swallowed the canary," Brennan grinned. "Pun intended."  
  
Flashing her eyes at him Shalimar's mood was too buoyant to be brought down by his friendly teasing. "I just scored us five tickets to the concert, tonight, at Central Hall."  
  
"But tonight is the Culture Armada Concert. Shal, they've been sold out for months!"  
  
"I know," she grinned a Cheshire grin. "I have a friend who works their crew, he scored me five front row tickets. We are in!"  
  
"Cool!" Jesse cried, his excitement growing rapidly.  
  
"Not me," Emma smiled as she descended the stairs quietly. Sitting on the last few she met Shalimar's disbelieving eyes. "I already have plans tonight."  
  
"Emma!"  
  
Smiling at Brennan, his disbelief as vast as Shalimar's, the young woman only shook her head. She could understand it. Culture Armada was the group to see and yet she was turning down a chance to see them, live. "Thanks, but I'll have to back out this time. I'm sure you'll have fun though."  
  
"You don't know what you're missing," Shalimar told her pointedly. "You'll come though, right Adam?"  
  
Taking a deep breath Adam thought over the invitation for all of three tenths of a second. "No." He smiled at the group, their stares turning from Emma to him. "I've never been one for modern music. Give me a dead composer any day."  
  
Growling in frustration, her plans for a night of fun falling apart, Shalimar put her hands on her hips. "Well what are we supposed to do with the extra tickets?"  
  
"Ya know, I heard that Tony's near town..." Jesse began with a hope filled voice.  
  
Rolling his eyes Brennan sighed, ruing the day he had introduced Jesse to his hacker friend. Having nothing better to do with the tickets Shalimar gave one to each of the guys; at least she wouldn't be going alone. There was nothing worse than going to a concert solo. "Why don't we all meet for dinner before hand? I hear there's a new place near Central Hall, it's supposed to be really good. Very upscale and prissy."  
  
Laughing they all agreed. Dinner together and then they would go their separate ways.  
  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X  
  
  
Standing on the street corner in front of the chosen restaurant, Firefly's, Adam held the door open for the ladies, allowing them to enter before he and the men entered last. As he shed his coat to be hung up in the coatroom Adam saw, for the first time, what his team was wearing. Shalimar, not surprisingly, was in all black, her leather skirt clinging tightly and a silky shirt hung low. Brennan too was in all black, his classic look, and Jesse was wearing a simple pair of pants and a button up shirt.   
  
While each of them looked good in their chosen outfits it was Emma that stole everyone's attention. As she handed her coat to the clerk Adam saw that she had chosen to wear a simple black dress, almost an evening gown. The thin strap that hung around her neck offered a clear view of her creamy shoulders and the dress fell to her ankles in deep black velvet. She was enchanting.  
  
Snapping his eyes away Adam resisted the urge to pull at the collar and clear his throat. As they waited for the maitre' d to confirm their reservation Adam wondered what he was doing. He knew that Emma was very special to him, all of them were, but he and Emma had clicked almost from the beginning. From the moment she had accepted her place on Mutant X she had become his assistant of sorts. Her knowledge of the medical field had come in handy on more than one occasion and he could always count on her to help him with whatever problem they were facing.  
  
She wasn't a violent person, though from recent events he had seen that there was a side of her that would take such drastic measures. While the other three were out, fighting the enemy with their powers, Emma stayed behind most of the time, working on the problem from a different angle. They spent more time together in the labs than anyone else did; sometimes working through the night to solve whatever it was that was holding them up.  
  
More than once, when he'd been called out to the field himself, he'd returned to find her asleep at the desk in the lab having worked through the night. Adam's mind called up the image of Emma, chewing on her pen as she thought over the problem in her mind, jotting down notes every now and then, making a notation here or a marker there, and he had to smile.  
  
'Yes,' he admitted to himself. 'Emma is very special.'  
  
Or was it more than just special?  
  
Called out of this thoughts Adam followed the group to the table and soon they were seated, ready to enjoy their meal. The conversation flowed through the night until it finally came time for Jesse, Shalimar, and Brennan to get going, meet their dates, and get tot he concert. Once again they were standing on the street corner, bundled up in coats against the harsh winter wind.  
  
"The concert lets out at ten, why don't we met for drinks after that? Say at eleven, down at Mason's," Brennan proposed. "Emma, your thing will be done by then, right?"  
  
She nodded. "It closes at nine."  
  
"Do you mind waiting for a little bit?"  
  
"No, I don't mind."  
  
"Good, then we'll meet up then."  
  
The three friends headed off towards Central Hall leaving Adam and Emma standing on the street. Turning to face him Emma wondered, "Did you have plans Adam, or were you just going to go home?"  
  
He shrugged. "I don't know really. It's been quite a while since I had the night off, nothing to do. I was thinking maybe I'd take it and do a little living for a change. Don't worry about me," he assured her with a smile. "I'll find something to do. It's a big city, I'm sure I'll find something interesting."  
  
"Okay," she smiled.  
  
"You'd better get going, I'd hate for you to be late."  
  
Nodding Emma said goodbye and began to walk down the sidewalk. She had barely taken ten steps when she turned around to see Adam still standing on the corner watching her leave. "Would you like to come with me?" she invited.   
  
Meeting her gaze for a moment Adam smiled. "Yes, I'd like that."  
  
Closing the distance between them Adam and Emma continued down the street together, side by side, until they came to the Art Palace. Now he understood why she was so dressed up. Once more they checked in their coats, Adam pocketing the stubs as they entered the main lobby. All around him men and women in formal eveningwear examined the art on the walls, the statues on the floor, the sculptures encased in glass boxes on pedestals.  
  
Offering his arm to Emma, she smiling at him as she accepted it, they wandered around the rooms of the Art palace, looking at the various forms of art and expression. As they came to a side room of the exhibit Adam noticed that Emma skipped right over it, passing the room by to keep looking at other items. "Emma?"  
  
"I'm sorry Adam. It's just that... Well I usually save that display for last."  
  
Nodding his head he accepted her reasoning, wondering why but waiting until they got there to try and figure it out.  
  
Emma was caught up in the magic of the night, the mystical mist of enchantment that seemed to hang in the air all around her. She was glad that Adam was here to share it with her. He was such a big part of her life now, that it made her happy to be able to share a part of her past with him as well. There were so many things that he didn't know about her, secrets she knew she could never share with anyone, that she was glad, almost relieved, to be able to share some of it with him.  
  
Their tour of the exhibit was complete, save for the one room they had skipped over. After taking a moment to sip some of the champagne that the waiters were carrying Adam and Emma moved to the last part of the tour. As they neared it he could feel Emma begin to tremble, her excitement was nearly tangible. They stood in the doorway of the room and Emma closed her eyes, inhaling the scent that was unique to this particular room. The scent of lavender seemed to hang in the air, with it mixed a little of something Adam couldn't quite place.  
  
"Emma?"  
  
Both of them looked toward the man who had cried her name. As the man rushed towards them Adam felt her grasp on his arm tighten instinctively. When he had reached them he took Emma's free hand in his, bringing it to his lips for a moment, squeezing it tightly within his own hands.  
  
"Emma DeLauro, it is you," he smiled at her. "I wasn't sure if you were going to make it before we had to leave town. Tonight is the last night of the exhibit."  
  
"I know," she said softly. "It was the first chance I had to get here." Smiling she introduced the two men. "Pierre, this is my friend Adam. Adam, this is Pierre Mantilla, the owner of the exhibit."  
  
The two men shook hands.  
  
"I'm sure you wish to visit with her, Emma. I'll leave you to the art."  
  
"Thank you Pierre."  
  
Beginning on the one side of the room Adam and Emma slowly, much more slowly than before, looked at each painting that hung on the wall. Taking her time Emma savored the art, the colors, and the emotions. It had been too long since she had gazed upon them. The memories they pulled to the surface were bitter sweet and it wasn't long until tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. Trying to blink them away she succeeded until they came to the final painting.  
  
Adam stared at the painting in wonder. The young girl that had been captured by the paints seemed to be alive with innocence yet the storm clouds that hung over head warned him it would not always be so. The girl herself seemed so familiar, as though he had seen her before. It was then that Adam realized who the young child was.  
  
Emma.  
  
The young girl in the painting, in the lacy white dress, playing in the forest, was Emma, the woman who stood next to him at this very moment. Looking down at her Adam saw the tears resting on her lashes. She was crying. "Emma?" he asked softly, concerned by her tears.   
  
"This was the last one she painted before she died."  
  
Her voice was soft, filled with love and pain, sadness and joy. A bittersweet combination that made Adam wonder at what had happened. Directing him back to the beginning of the room Emma told him about each painting. Where they had lived when it was painted, what her life had been like then, travelling around with her mother and father. When they came to the last painting she was silent for some time.  
  
"We were in New York when she painted this one, an old state park called Letchworth. It was autumn but it was warm enough to go without a jacket. Dad was already gone and Mom was getting closer and closer to giving birth every day. We had gone to the park and spent the entire day there. I remember it was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky."  
  
Her voice faltered but Emma kept going.  
  
"That was the last time she was able to pick up a brush. A few weeks later she gave birth to my little sister but everything went wrong. Julie was two weeks old when Mom died. I didn't see this painting again until I was sixteen. I asked my uncle why she had painted the dark clouds and he told me that it was because she had known that hard times were coming. My mother knew that she was going to die, the doctors had warned her not to birth naturally, that it would kill her, but she refused to listen to them."  
  
"I was with her when she died. She held me in her arms and she kept telling me how proud she was of her little girl. Then she told me that I had to take care of Julie, that I would be the only one she had left and that she would need me to tell her about her mother and father, to remind her how much they loved her. We lived with my father's brother until he died. By then I was old enough to be on my own but Julie wasn't. The courts refused to grant me custody so they put her in a foster home."  
  
Adam stared at Emma as she told her tale, the tears shimmering, unshed, in her eyes, resting on her lashes. He put his arm around her, drawing her close, as the pain became more prominent in her voice. Through the emotions in her voice, the feelings that flowed from her eyes, he was transported back to the bed, the sight of a mother and daughter's last moments playing before his eyes.  
  
Emma suddenly turned to him and tilted her head back to meet his eyes. "Thank you Adam," she whispered. "Thank you for coming with me tonight."  
  
Standing up on her tiptoes she placed a gentle kiss on his cheek before turning back to the painting that hung in the wall. In silence they stood, staring at a mother's goodbye to her daughter, before turning to collect their coats; the exhibit was closing. Out on the street, arm in arm the duo made their way to Mason's, a little coffee shop, to wait for the rest of their team. Adam and Emma were still silent as they walked; no words were needed between them that night.  
  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X  
  
  
Lying in her bed, sleep a long ways off, Emma stared at the ceiling of her room. No matter what topic she tried to call forth Emma couldn't get her mind off Adam. Unbidden her thoughts drifted back to the hours they had spent in the little coffee shop, waiting for Shalimar, Brennan and Jesse to join them. They had simply talked. No mention of work, the GSA, New Mutants, or anything even related to those topics.   
  
Emma had seen a whole other side to Adam that night.  
  
She'd always seen the work side of him, the part of the man that dwelt on fixing the problems he had created. But that night she had seen the other side, the man behind the genius. And now, nearly a week later, she couldn't get that night off her mind. 'What is happening to me?' she wondered silently. 'I'm acting like a little girl with a...'  
  
Refusing to finish that thought Emma stood and donned her robe, slipping out the door, down the hall to the water pond. What was she thinking? It was ridiculous! He was so much older than she was, enough years stood between them to make him her father. But it didn't change the small little seed that had been planted in her heart that night almost a week ago.  
  
Somehow... someway... she had fallen in love.  
  
Sitting on the edge of the wooden block overlooking the pond Emma closed her eyes, her mind summoning unbidden memories of him standing in the labs as they worked, his one eyebrow raised as he tried to think of a solution to their problem. The way they both raised when he finally found it and the joy that would suddenly appear in his eyes just before he shared it with her. She remembered the softness in his touch when she had woken up after being 'split' some time ago.  
  
But most of all, above everything else, she remembered the feel of his arm around her as she had told him of her life, the death of her mother and father, the birth and loss of her little sister Julie. Never before had she felt as safe as she had at the moment, his arm around her offering her the silent strength and support she needed to finish telling her tale. Sighing Emma stared at the water below her.  
  
Emma was in love... with Adam.  
  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X  
  
  
"You're dropping your fist again."  
  
Ready to scream in frustration Emma chose to glare at Shalimar instead. Smirking Shalimar readied her stance, waiting for Emma to begin the attack again. Their weekly sessions had helped Emma to improve her fighting skills tremendously but she still had room for quite a bit of improvement. With a sigh she raised her fists and began to attack again.  
  
On the floor, watching the two women go at it, Brennan and Jesse were making bets as to the amount of time until Shalimar knocked Emma down again when Adam walked in. Raising his eyebrow at the two men Adam shook his head, not bothering to hide the smile that played over his face. Standing with them he watched as the girls fought each other. It was only a training match but they could all see that Emma was putting everything she had into the fight.  
  
Back and forth they sparred until once more Emma dropped her fist as Shalimar had warned her that she was doing. Making her point the feral landed a punch on Emma's shoulder, knocking the girl off balance. She couldn't regain her balance in time and fell over the edge of the platform, managing to grab the edge of it before she fell to the hard floor below her.  
  
"Emma!" they all yelled, concerned for her safety.  
  
Closer than the others Adam reached her first. Holding his arms out he told her to let go, catching her as she dropped easily into his arms. There, suspended in his arms, held tightly to his chest, her arm around his neck, their faces were mere centimeters apart from each other. Eyes caught in the others they stared at each other for a moment, neither one knowing what was going on, only that they didn't want it to end. Adam released one of his arms, letting her legs fall, his other arm supporting her back as she slid along him to the floor. Staring up at him Emma was locked in the trance of his deep brown eyes.  
  
"Emma are you all right?" Shalimar called, running down the stairs from the platform.  
  
Blinking, the link broken, both Adam and Emma stepped away from each other, each one reeling from what had just passed between them, the electricity, as shocking as the voltage that shot forth from Brennan's fingertips.   
  
"You okay?" Jesse asked as he and Brennan reached the group. "You almost took quite a dive there, Em."  
  
"I'm... fine..." she hesitated, unsure how to make her voice work again. Clearing her throat she put a little more confidence into her words. "I'm fine, I just lost my balance is all. Guess I gotta work on that."  
  
A beep rang out from the computer, interrupting their concern. Stepping away to the computer, needing a moment to pull his head back together, Adam checked the console. It was a message for Emma. Calling it to her attention Adam watched her cross the room to his side, her eyes everywhere but his. Giving her some privacy to read her message Adam, along with everyone else, was startled by the small gasp that escaped from her throat.  
  
"I gotta go!" she cried before fleeing the room.  
  
They called after her but it was too late, she was gone.  
  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X 


	3. Chapter Two

Blood Price- Chapter Two  
  
Pulling the car to a stop outside a quaint little house in the suburbs Emma got out and hurried up to the door, ringing the doorbell as she stepped up the steps. Anxious moments later the door opened and an older man peered out. "What do you want?"  
  
"Mr. Kinsey? My name is Emma DeLauro."  
  
Immediately the door swung open and she was ushered inside the little house. Walking down the hallway to the living room she saw a woman sitting on the couch, tears in her eyes, a shredded handkerchief in her hands. On the wall she saw pictures of the happy family and Emma's heart twisted.  
  
"Will?" the woman asked with a hint of fear in her voice.  
  
"This is Emma DeLauro, Gina,"  
  
"Oh!" the woman cried. Jumping up from her seat she crossed the room and pulled Emma into her arms. "I'm so glad to finally meet you," she whispered.  
  
"Please, Mr. and Mrs. Kinsey... what happened?"  
  
Sitting down on the couch the couple faced Emma as she sat in the chair opposite them, ready and waiting to hear the story that was about to unfold. Her imagination had been working overtime as she had made the trip from the Sanctuary, every mile passing more slowly than the one before it.  
  
"We didn't know what was going on until it was already over. She was staying late at school that day for a project in her Science class. We didn't think anything of it until it was almost dinnertime. I was heading over to the school when a man knocked on our door. He delivered the message for us to contact you and said that he wouldn't tell us anything until we did so."  
  
"Have you heard from him again?"  
  
"No," Gina Kinsey cried. "We don't know a thing! I'm so worried!"  
  
"He told us to have you call this number when you arrived," handing her a slip of paper, "...and that we would hear something then. Please, you have to help us! She's our only child, we can't bear to lose her."  
  
"Neither can I," Emma replied as she picked up the phone, dialing the number she read on the paper.  
  
After a few rings the line picked up and Emma's heart froze when she heard the voice on the other end of the line. "I knew it wouldn't take you too long to respond, Miss DeLauro."  
  
"Eckhart..."  
  
"Yes," he replied in a calm tone. "I believe I have something you want."  
  
"If you've hurt her I swear I'll..."  
  
"Don't be so dramatic, Miss DeLauro. I have something you want and you are something I want. I'm proposing a trade, you for her."  
  
Closing her eyes Emma wanted to cry. "You'll never keep your end of the bargain."  
  
"She's no New Mutant, what use could I possibly have for her."  
  
"You tell me."  
  
Her voice was calm but inside her heart was breaking. Emma would do anything to get her back. He knew it as well as she did. "Do you agree to the proposal or shall we keep her for a few more years? I'm sure my people have a number of experiments they'd be eager to try. The choice is yours, Miss DeLauro."  
  
Biting her lip, her choice was no choice at all, Emma closed her eyes in defeat as she gave her answer. "I agree."  
  
"Excellent. Meet us in one hour in the abandoned warehouse district. Come alone Miss DeLauro, no tricks."  
  
"You too," she replied before hanging up.  
  
"What is it? What's going on?"  
  
Turning to Gina and William Kinsey Emma tried to smile. "It will be okay. I'll get her back safely to you I promise. Stay here, I'll make sure she gets here safely. Please," she said as she walked to the front door. "Don't do anything for now."  
  
With a goodbye she walked out of their house and into the street. Standing by the car she turned on her ring. "Adam?"  
  
"Emma? Where are you? What's going on?"  
  
"Adam, I..." Emma's voice cut off, her throat closing. Clearing her throat she opened it again with a toss of her head. "I need you to meet in the abandoned warehouse district. Please hurry Adam, it's important."  
  
"We'll be right there."  
  
Turning from the desk he was standing at Adam strode out of the lab to the main room, calling out for the team to meet him in the hangar. In moments the Double Helix was flying out of the hangar and through the air to meet their friend.  
  
"Everyone be alert," Adam warned as they landed. "I'm not sure what we'll find so pay attention and be ready for anything."  
  
Senses on full alert the four team members went to find the fifth. In only a few moments they found her sitting on an abandoned light post in the middle of an empty parking lot. Rushing to her side, fearing the worst, Adam put his hand to her shoulder. Startled, pulled from her thoughts, Emma looked up and saw her friends standing there, each one wearing a look of concern in their eyes.  
  
"Emma, what's going on?"  
  
Getting to her feet she never got the chance to explain when three cars pulled to a halt a little ways away. From the middle car Mason Eckhart emerged, his face as calm as ever as he walked toward the group, his guards trailing close behind while three of the agents stayed behind at the cars. The pale man came to a stop next to Mutant X and looked over each one before turning his gaze to rest on Emma.  
  
"I thought we had agreed to come alone, Miss DeLauro?"  
  
"You're as alone as I am, Eckhart."  
  
"Point taken," he nodded. "Shall we proceed or did you intend to fight your way out of our little deal?"  
  
Emma could feel the shock emanating from her friends at Mason's words. "No fight. You keep your end and I'll keep mine."  
  
Nodding to her in one small motion he lifted his hand and the back door of the third car opened.  
  
"Emma! You made a deal with Eckhart?" Jesse cried, unable to believe what he had heard and seen just now. The rest of the team agreed silently, each one staring at the young woman in disbelief.  
  
Emma ignored them, her eyes glued to the door that had been opened. She watched as a young girl, no older than twelve, emerged from the vehicle timidly. The moment her eyes met Emma's the girl broke into a run, hair flying out behind her as she ran into Emma's waiting arms. "Emma!" she cried; her joy and relief at seeing her was evident to even the hardest hearted of the GSA.  
  
Tears stung at her eyes as Emma held the young girl in her arms. "Julie," she whispered. Head bent over the young girl Emma hugged her tightly, wishing she didn't have to let go, every cell, every instinct in her heart crying out to her to run. But Emma knew she couldn't take the chance that Julie would get hurt in the crossfire. No, the only way to ensure her safety was to stick to her deal with the devil. Lifting her head Emma placed a gentle hand to her sister's cheek before turning her around to face the men and woman standing behind her.  
  
"Julie, I want you to meet someone." Taking a step closer to Adam Emma raised her eyes to meet his. "This is Adam. He's going to take you home to the Kinsey's. He'll take good care of you."  
  
"No, Emma!" the girl cried, turning back around to face her older sister. "I want you to take me home!"  
  
Forcing a smile onto her face Emma kissed her cheek and whispered, "I love you."   
  
Taking the ring off her finger Emma gave it to Julie before turning her around once more and pushing her towards Adam. Meeting his eyes, calling forth her gift of telempathy, Emma made her point clear in Adam's mind for him to take care of Julie, to get her home safely. Still in the trance of Emma's power Adam ordered Jesse to take Julie back to the double Helix. Once they were on their way, Julie protesting the whole way, Emma shifted the subject of her link with Adam's mind. In his minds-eye Adam watched Emma close the distance between them. Placing on of her tapered hands on his neck she pulled him close, kissing his lips with a passion.  
  
Suddenly Emma was ripped from his mind and Adam's attention was caught by her cry of pain. He saw the gun taken from the back of her neck, the look of pain on her face, and he knew that they had put a subdermal governor on the base of her neck. Seemingly as one Mutant X took a step forward to help Emma but stopped when she cried out, "No!"  
  
"I'm sorry, Adam," she called as the agents pulled her away.  
  
In disbelief they watched as she climbed into the car and was whisked away with Eckhart's men.  
  
Emma was gone.  
  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X  
  
  
Sitting in the living room of the Kinsey's household, the tearful reunion already passed, Adam's mind was a jumble as he tried to sort everything out. From the story Julie had told them, Mason had his men take her from school a few days ago and used the girl as bait to trap Emma. Adam knew, as well as Mason had, that there was no way Emma would have risked Julie's life and safety by not complying with his demands.  
  
Mutant X was subdued as the reality of what had happened sank in. Emma had traded herself willingly to the GSA to keep her little sister free. The price of her sister's freedom was Emma's own blood.  
  
"I don't know what to say to all of you. We had no idea what she was doing, only that she was going to take care of everything." William Kinsey shook his head. "We should have gone to the police."  
  
"They wouldn't have been able to do anything," Adam sighed. "We'll figure something out. Somehow we'll get her back."  
  
"Adam..." Julie whispered as she moved to stand next to the man who Emma had entrusted her to. Looking up at her Adam tried to smile for the young girl's sake. "When you get Emma back would you give her this? This means a lot to her."  
  
Looking down as Julie opened his hand Adam saw her place Emma's Comm Ring in his hand. In his chest, hidden from view of everyone else, his heart wept. The chances of getting Emma back, safe and sound, were minimal; they'd have a better chance of convincing Eckhart to close the GSA. Closing his fist around the ring Adam swore to himself that he would get her back no matter what. He had to.  
  
"You love my sister," Julie said softly, her hand on Adam's closed fist. Silence fell as everyone stared at the two people who were staring at each other. "I can feel it; you do, don't you?"  
  
Meeting her eyes Adam saw Emma staring back at him. This young girl was the child Emma once was. Had she been the same? Able to tell what other people were feeling, knowing the things they kept hidden from the rest of the world? Staring at her, seeing Emma in Julie's big brown eyes, Adam didn't even realize he spoke. "Yes."  
  
Julie nodded. "She loves you too," Julie smiled. "I could feel it when I touched her ring."  
  
Frowning Adam's mind began to shift into gear. "You are a New Mutant, aren't you?" Julie nodded. "How did Mason not recognize it?"  
  
Julie shrugged. "They never did anything to me. They just kept me in this room with no windows until we went to see Emma."  
  
"What can you do, Julie?"  
  
"Not much," she sighed. "Nothing like Emma can! I just know what someone is feeling. If they're happy or sad I can feel it. You're really sad right now." Tightening her grip on Adam's hand Julie pleaded, "Please Adam... please bring Emma home."  
  
Wrapping the young girl in a hug Adam held her for a moment. "I promise, I'll get her back somehow."  
  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X  
  
  
Sitting in the chair, strapped in, Emma kept her eyes closed as they ran the various physical examinations on her body. Some were painful but her body's pain was no match for the pain in her heart. Julie was safe, that was what mattered, but at what cost? She'd signed her soul over to the devil himself.  
  
Her eyes closed Emma could still see the shock on everyone's faces as she had driven away in the GSA's transports. Shalimar had flashed her eyes, ready to take on every agent between them and Emma had seen the electricity snapping at the end of Brennan's fingertips. But Adam had simply stood there, arms hanging limply by his side as he watched her leaving. It was his face that held her memories though. The look of pain that had crossed his face was forever burned into her memory. Emma only hoped that he didn't think she was a traitor. She'd had no choice.  
  
"We're all done, Mr. Eckhart. She's in perfect physical health."  
  
"Good. Bring in Ms. Sheridan to evaluate her psyche."  
  
Keeping her eyes closed she listened as the door opened and feet walked away. Though one man had left another was still in the room, silent, watching her. She could hear him breathing. A few moments later the door hissed open again and two people, one man and one woman, walked into the room. Emma listened as the three people conferred with each other.  
  
"Mr. Eckhart," the woman greeted her boss.  
  
"Ms Sheridan. I want you to evaluate the mental condition of Ms DeLauro. I need to know if she would be better suited for office work or for fieldwork. Or whether it would be better to place her in stasis."  
  
"Yes sir, Mr. Eckhart."  
  
The doors slid open again and the two men left, leaving Emma alone with Marla Sheridan. "Open your eyes Emma," she commanded. When Emma didn't do as she had been ordered Marla pressed a button on the device she held in her hand and instantaneous pain exploded in Emma's head, spots dancing before her now open eyes.   
  
"That's more like it. You and I are going to be spending a few moments together, Emma, I like to see my patients eyes when I enter their minds."  
  
With that said Emma's mind was invaded by the reaching grasp of Marla Sheridan's mutancy. Fighting the urge to scream out against the pain, Emma tensed her entire body, head to toe, until the woman finally released her hold on Emma's mind. Tears streaming down her cheeks from the pain Emma bent her head over as Ms. Sheridan made notes on her pad.   
  
"You have quite an interesting mind, Emma. I'd love to spend some more time in but for now I must get my report to Mr. Eckhart. Another time perhaps."  
  
The woman left the room, leaving the exhausted Emma to hang her head and weep.  
  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X  
  
  
Sitting at the table, each one silent, they waited for a sign that the man was finished. No sooner had they left the Kinsey's house than Adam called in a favor with an old friend. Jack was known for his ability to read people, even across very great distances. Sitting at the table he concentrated on finding and reading Emma. Finally, after almost an hour, he opened his eyes.  
  
"Jack?"  
  
"I was able to read her, but just barely. I have no idea where she is Adam, but the fact that I could barely read her means she's pretty far away."  
  
"What did you see?"  
  
Jack sighed. "A chair. She was strapped into a chair. That was basically all I got."  
  
"You're lying Jack," Adam glared. "Your lip is twitching, that means you lying. What aren't you telling me?"  
  
"Adam, it's not something you need to know, really."  
  
Opening his mind Adam forced his thoughts and feeling onto Jack. Everything he felt about Emma flowed between the two men until Jack became overloaded. Putting his head in his hands he cried out for Adam to stop. The flow ceased and Jack tried to process everything Adam had just relayed. This was no mere teammate or just another young woman to Adam; he loved her with everything he had. Jack winced; he could feel a headache forming.  
  
"All right..." he sighed. Looking up at Adam Jack frowned as he remembered what he had felt. "She's in pain."  
  
"How? What are they doing to her?"  
  
"I don't know, but it was pretty extensive. An exam maybe, a test or experiment of some sort, I'm not sure. All I can tell you is that she was in pain. I swear Adam, that's all I could read."  
  
Frustrated Adam sat back in his chair. "All right," he said at long last. "Thanks Jack."  
  
"Don't mention it. I owed you big."  
  
"Adam!" Shalimar cried from the computer console. "The GSA is on the move again. They're heading towards the city again."  
  
"Dammit!" he growled. How was he supposed to find Emma when he had to deal with the GSA's hunting for other New Mutants as well? "Brennan, Jesse... go! Shalimar, keep an eye on them from the console and make sure they know where to go. And everyone keep your comm links open!" he yelled, making sure the two men could hear him as they ran out of the room.  
  
Needing a moment alone to collect himself Adam stood from the table and strode out to the hallway, pacing it back and forth. Eckhart had Emma and Emma was in pain. In Adam's book Eckhart was a dead man. Why hadn't Emma talked to him about it? They could have figured something out together, some way to get Julie away from the GSA safely. But in the same moment Adam knew that Emma couldn't have taken that risk; not with Julie's life on the line.  
  
Adam's thoughts drifted back to the last moment he had spent with Emma, when she had kissed him in his mind. His lips, though they had nothing to do with it, tingled at the memory. He had been shocked to say the least when she had done so, but he had responded with equal fervor, knowing that she was saying goodbye, he didn't understand why, but he knew it all the same.  
  
Feeling a hand on his shoulder Adam turned to see Jack standing behind him.   
  
"You'll figure something out Adam, I know you will. There's always a chance so long as she stays alive. I took the chance to read Eckhart as well. He doesn't want to kill her. He wants to use her to gain access to the Sanctuary, to use her codes and her DNA to bring Mutant X to its knees. But she's fighting him. She may have gone with him of her own free will, but she'll never give him what he wants by choice."  
  
"I know. It's what he'll do to get the information that has me worried."  
  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X 


	4. Chapter Three

Blood Price - Chapter Three  
  
  
Standing just inside the doorway Marla waited for Eckhart to call her forward the last few steps. With a simple look he requested her report.  
  
"She's overcome with despair. In her mind she knows she had no choice but in her heart she hopes that somehow Mutant X will be able to rescue her. She knows they'll try and that more than likely they'll fail but she hopes it all the same. With the proper training she can be put to use in the field. I wouldn't trust her completely, not even after the training, but she will be able to do the work."  
  
"What else did you find out?" Mason asked her with a calm demeanor.  
  
"She's in love."  
  
At that Eckhart raised his eyebrow. "And who is the boy so fortunate to have caught her heart?"  
  
"No mere boy, Mr. Eckhart. She's in love with Adam."   
  
Contemplating this little tidbit for a moment he motioned for her to leave, report done. Turning his chair around to stare out the window he thought over what he had just found out. Emma was in love with Adam. This could come in handy in her programming. Turning back around he called up a program on his computer and began to type. He would control her programming himself.  
  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X  
  
  
Sitting in the chair Emma looked around at the room she was being kept in, the stainless steel tables and chairs were antiseptically clean. Suddenly a commotion sounded in the hallways and she watched as Jesse ran by, Brennan behind him, neither one stopping when they heard her cries to them. A moment later Shalimar raced by, glancing in the window she flashed her eyes at Emma before running past, following the guys to the safety of the Double Helix.  
  
Wide-eyed, unable to believe they would leave her at the GSA Emma saw Adam run into view. "Adam!" she screamed to him.   
  
Pausing for a moment he stared through the window at her and saw the bonds that held her in place. Glancing off to the side for a moment he shook his head and ran off in the same direction as the others, GSA agents hot on his heels.  
  
"Adam...?" she whimpered.  
  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X  
  
  
In the middle of an empty park Emma saw her team heading towards her, determination in their pace, and she knew they were coming to take her home. Smiling at them she was unprepared for the first swing Shalimar threw. Ducking she barely managed to avoid the second and third ones. From the corner of her eyes she saw Brennan and Jesse fighting with the GSA Agents who were with her.  
  
Facing off with Shalimar Emma called up ever tactic she could to get away, all the while trying to calm Shalimar down. "Shalimar, come on, it's me, Emma! I don't want to fight you!" she cried to her friend.  
  
"Then you shouldn't have left Mutant X!" she growled back, landing a punch to Emma's jaw.  
  
Falling to the ground the last thing she saw was Adam, walking away from her, calling his team to come with him. He was leaving her again.  
  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X  
  
  
She was standing in the middle of an empty room. There was nothing in it except herself. Suddenly a door opened, one she hadn't seen before, and Adam entered the room. "Adam!" she cried to him.   
  
She watched as he approached her, placing his hand on her shoulder, kissing her. While his lips were still on hers Emma suddenly felt a searing pain in her side. Looking down she saw Adam taking his hand away from the knife that has buried to the hilt in her side. Towering above her Adam watched as she fell to the floor, her life ebbing away with each drop. Just before she closed her eyes Emma watched him turn away and leave her to die on the floor.  
  
In that same moment she saw Eckhart enter the room, picking her up and carrying her away to the safety of the labs where the doctors worked their magic to heal the wound Adam had caused. Mason had saved her life. Turning her head she stared at him as the doctor's worked. It was he who had saved her when Adam had simply walked away. It was he who had wanted her when Adam had not.  
  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X  
  
  
The door slid open and Eckhart entered the control room of the programming unit. Watching Emma standing in the center of the ring, a device on her head to block out everything except what was being pumped into her mind, he turned to the technician. "Well?"  
  
"She's progressing on schedule, Mr. Eckhart. The programs you designed are working perfectly. She should be ready in a few more days."  
  
"Very well. Keep me informed."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
Hearing the door slide shut behind his boss the technician prepared to load the next sequence of programs to be uploaded to the woman's brain.  
  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X  
  
  
She found him in her room.  
  
Opening the door Shalimar entered Emma's room to see Adam hunched down in the corner. Staring out at the picture on her desk he didn't notice the feral until she was kneeling next to him. Putting a soft hand on his arm she searched his eyes. There was so much pain and guilt, the likes of which she hadn't seen in his brown eyes since before he had started Mutant X.  
  
"I failed her." He said after a moment, his eyes never leaving the smiling face of the woman in the middle of the group picture. "I promised Julie I would get Emma home but I couldn't. I failed her."  
  
"Adam," she breathed.  
  
She didn't know what to say. It had been months since Emma had gone with Eckhart and no one had any clue as to where she was. Adam's contact in the GSA had no information, the underground network hadn't heard about her; it was as if she had disappeared from the face of the earth. She was just gone.  
  
"You don't think..." Shalimar couldn't bring herself to say it.  
  
"No," he shook his head. "She's not dead. Jack's been reading her every now and then to make sure. He says there's been a change in her but he can't figure out what it is. All he does know for sure is that she's not dead."  
  
"Then there's still hope," unwittingly echoing Jack's words to Adam from so long ago.  
  
Loosing Emma had been hard on him; they all could see it. Had she died he could have grieved for her and eventually moved on but instead she had handed herself over to the devil incarnate. She was out there, somewhere, suffering who knew what torture, and he was powerless to help her. Adam's love for Emma had proven to be the thorn in his side, hampering everything he did. He couldn't spend endless hours in his lab anymore, the memory of his time with Emma proving to be too much to bear. His concentration had waned, everything he saw or did prodding some memory of the young woman to the fore making it impossible for him to focus.   
  
Sitting in silence for a little while longer Adam closed his eyes and stood, trying to shake himself out of his stupor. "Did you need something Shalimar?"  
  
She nodded. "Jesse says the GSA are on the move again. They're heading towards our area, he thinks they've found the safe house in the basement of City Hall."  
  
"Then we'd better get going."  
  
Walking through the corridors to the Double Helix they were in the air before Shalimar and Jesse could fill him in. "Brennan's already there, trying to clear everyone out. Thankfully there was only a few people there and he's getting them to safety. He'll meet us there when he's done."  
  
"All right, when we get there I want you to seal off all the rooms, hide them behind a holo-field. If they've found it then they won't be able to find all of it," he instructed Jesse. "Shalimar I want you to stick with me. If things get hairy I'll need your skills."  
  
"You got it Adam," they both replied to him.  
  
Adam fell into silence; only half listening to them banter back and forth. Absent-mindedly he began twisting the ring on his pinky finger. He had taken to wearing Emma's Comm Ring on his pinky finger, swearing to himself that he would return it to her one day. Over the last few months he would twist it every time he thought about her, every time he was worried about something. It was a small reminder that she was still alive, a link to her that was all he had left.  
  
The Double Helix set down and, after cloaking it, they made their way through the rain to City Hall. Down to the basement Adam unlocked the Janitor's room and crossed it to another door. Passing through that one he unlocked a third door and, entering a key sequence on the small electronic pad the three of them entered the safe house. Opening the door Adam jumped back when a bolt of electricity shot towards them, hitting the wall panel instead.  
  
"Sorry Adam," Brennan called with a sheepish grin. "You caught me off guard."  
  
"Apparently." Examining the panel Brennan had hit Adam frowned. "You fried the entry system. I'll have to get this repaired before we can use this safe house again."  
  
Jesse sat himself down at the computer to begin setting up the holo-fields while Brennan told Adam what he'd done, where' he'd taken the hideaway's for now. As he was finishing the last room they all heard the sound of a pail being overturned. Turning around they saw GSA Agents entering the safe house. Quickly they sprang into action. By the time they had knocked out a few of them the rest of the agents had surrounded Mutant X, each one holding tazers in their hands. Before they could move to attack again another person entered the safe house.  
  
"Emma," Adam whispered to himself, staring at the woman who walked around the outside of the circle.  
  
Her eyes never left the leader of Mutant X as she walked around the circle of agents that had surrounded the team. Passing between two of the agents she approached the team in the center of the circle. Using her mutancy she forced them to their knees before turning to face on in particular. "Where are the New Mutants that you were hiding here?"  
  
Looking up into her cold eyes Brennan knew that the Emma he had known wasn't here. "I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
Staring at him Emma once more used her power. His skin feeling as though it were on fire Brennan cried out in pain against her abuse. After a moment she stopped and repeated her question. "What did you do with them?"  
  
Breathing heavily, the memory of the pain still making him tremble, Brennan knew he couldn't tell her. "What makes you think I'm the one who would know?"  
  
"You're dry," she said simply. "They're wet. You've been here longer. Where did you send them?"  
  
"Sorry Em," he said, tossing a rebellious smile at her, trying to remind himself that she was working for the opposite side now.   
  
Glaring at him Emma knew it would be pointless to cause him further pain. Closing her eyes for a moment, when she opened them it was Shalimar who screamed as, in her mind, thousands of knives buried themselves into her skin.  
  
"Emma stop!" Adam yelled to her.  
  
Her attention diverted by the sound of his voice the abuse of Shalimar ceased and the feral fell to the ground, still recovering from the pain of the mental attack. Moving to stand before Adam Emma stared down at him. She didn't do anything, didn't move, didn't speak; all she did was stare at the man she knew from somewhere, a small bug in the back of her mind nagging her to be noticed and set free. Turning on her heel suddenly Emma stalked away, calling to the agents who encircled them.  
  
"Team A come with me. Team B, make it quick, the New Mutants aren't here and we have a limited time to catch them. Dispose of Mutant X and follow us to the next zone."  
  
Four of the ten men followed Emma out the door while the other six enclosed on the team. Jesse and Adam made it to their feet first, Brennan next and a weakened Shalimar last. Angry, hurt, they fueled their emotions into the fists, using both hands and feet to take care of the agents that were left. When the last agent fell Jesse and Shalimar raced after Emma, to try and catch her while Brennan and Adam took the agents pictures and dragged them out into the hallway, sealing the safe house up behind them. It would be some time before it could be used again.  
  
Hurrying up to the surface they saw their two team mates heading back to their position, dejection on their faces. "We lost her, Adam," Jesse shook his head.  
  
With Shalimar between the two men the foursome made their way back to the Double Helix to try and find Emma and the other team before they made it to their next destination. Up in the air they hovered under cloak as Jesse made a scan of the area. In the back Adam did a scan of Shalimar only to determine what she kept insisting.   
  
"I'm fine, it just hurt is all." She was silent for a moment before looking up at him. "I've never been on the receiving end of her power before Adam."  
  
"I know."  
  
"What happened to her? Why did she turn on us?"  
  
Sighing he took a seat. He knew they were all listening, waiting for an answer. "Emma's been programmed. It's a system that Mason designed to help victims come to terms with what had happened to them. Only after he had designed hit he found out that the opposite was also true. He began to use it to 'convince' people to join him."  
  
"It uploads images into the brain that become the main memories for that person. He can literally re-write the personality of anyone, turn the meekest person into an elite soldier or the hardest of criminals into a little child. Whatever it is that he's done to Emma... it might not be possible to reverse it."  
  
"But we can try, right?" Brennan asked.  
  
"If we get to her in time."  
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
"After a period of time the new personality takes over and the old one is abolished forever. If we don't get to her in time, we've lost her forever. Of course that might not ever happen. If something reminds her too much of the memories from before the programming then they'll try to resurface and take over again."  
  
"What happens then?" Jesse asked for the other two.  
  
"Then..." Adam sighed hoping it wouldn't come to this. "Then the two memories will battle it out in her head. Whichever is the stronger set will win and the other set will be eliminated. But in the process we could very well lose her."  
  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X  
  
  
Standing in his office, hands behind her back, Emma stared straight ahead, her face giving no indication of the turmoil inside her head.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"We met up with Mutant X at the safe house, Mr. Eckhart. They had already warned the new Mutants of our presence and they were gone."  
  
Glancing from the commander giving the report to Emma standing behind him quietly Mason wondered how the young woman had been affected by it. "What happened then?"  
  
"Agent DeLauro attempted to use her mutancy to make them talk but they refused. Team B was left behind to finish off the rebels while Team A went on to the next site. When we hadn't heard from them we returned to check on their status and found them all unconscious in the hallway and the rebels gone."  
  
"Very well. Agent Hopkins, make your full report to the officer in charge. Agent DeLauro will stay for a moment." The man nodded and left the office, glad to be gone. It was well known that an agent who failed his task usually didn't come out of that office alive. Once the door had shut behind the man Mason Eckhart turned to Emma. "And your version, Agent DeLauro?"  
  
"They were ready for us," she said simply. "They were able to get the New Mutants out in time but how they managed to defeat Team B I don't know. I left two of them wounded. One human and one new Mutant shouldn't have been nearly enough to eliminate six men. Your men must not have been trained very well."  
  
"A harsh sentence from one who failed in her own task."  
  
Emma was silent. She knew he was right and had no response for him. With a curt wave of his hand she was dismissed. Walking down the hallway she entered the reporting officers unit to give her full report. Once done there she reported to the medical unit for an exam and then was free to return to her quarters. Not bothering with the lights she sat at her desk, staring out into the darkness.  
  
She had known that man.  
  
Closing her eyes she pictured him in her mind. Deep brown eyes stared back at her, they were kind eyes, not the ones she would think to recall in the face of an enemy. She had so many conflicting memories about the man that she saw before her. She remembered good things, working for hours on end in a lab, laughing, and talking. But she also remembered bad things, leaving her to face the enemy alone, walking away from her when she needed him most, causing her such incredible pain.  
  
How could they both be true? Who was this man that was invading her mind? Needing to know she turned on her computer and called up the Genomex records. She remembered they had worked together in a lab, somewhere. It had to be the Genomex labs. Doing a facial search of the Genomex employees she was just entering her fourth hour of searching when his face came onto the screen. Reading the information below Emma's mind became an even worse jumble as she took in the information she read.  
  
A knock sounded on her door and, shutting off the screen she crosse4d to it, opening the door to see the head agent standing before her. "Report to the briefing room, we have an assignment."  
  
Abandoning her quarters she fell into step behind the man all the way to the briefing room. Sitting at the head of the table was Mr. Eckhart himself, a change from the normal routine. Taking her seat Emma recalled how she had come to be in the GSA. He had saved her life, taking a personal interest in her training he had given her a chance to turn around her wayward life. She owed him everything.  
  
As the briefing began she paid close attention to it, memorizing every detail. "Now that you know the particulars there is one more detail. Mr. Eckhart has an interest in this assignment so he will be accompanying you. Remember that his safety comes above all else, even your own lives. If he returns wounded in anyway you had better not come back alive."  
  
The group was dismissed and they headed out to the carport to claim their vehicles. The ride was a silent one, Emma's mind a jumble of thoughts as she recalled various memories she had never previously known; a headache began to form in the back of her head, growing rapidly with each conflicting memory. When they reached their destination the agents emerged from their vehicles to begin hunting down the New Mutant who was hiding out in the abandoned warehouse. While three agents went in to flush her out the rest covered the exits.  
  
Standing by the one doorway with Agent Martin Emma tried to focus on her assignment but found her mind wandering all over the place, her headache growing phenomenally. A call went out over their earpiece that the New Mutant had been captured and everyone began to head back to the vehicles. In the middle of the empty parking lot a large ship Emma knew from somewhere landed and four people, three men and one woman, emerged from it.  
  
"Let her go," the one called out.  
  
Standing just out of sight Emma knew she hadn't been seen yet and took the moment to observe them. She recognized them as the rebels from the City Hall safe house, Mutant X. Her eyes studied each one and nagging memories began to rise to the surface. Training sessions on a platform with the girl. A bar scene, running from the enemy, for the tall boy. Standing behind a computer console laughing with the shorter one. She knew these people, they had been her friends.  
  
Her headache growing, nearly to the point of making it impossible to walk, Emma stumbled out to the car, falling against the hood. All eyes turned to her as she groped around the edge of it, coming to a stop between the two groups that were facing off. Putting her hands to her head Emma wanted to scream, the pain was intense. Bending over double she fought the cry that was rising in her throat.  
  
"Agent DeLauro," Eckhart called to her. "Return at once."  
  
Standing she turned to look at him when Adam called out to her a well.  
  
"Emma, come home with us, I can help you."  
  
Turning she looked at Adam and he could see the pain in her eyes, the conflicting battle that was waging in her head. He was too late; the process had already begun. Before she could make up her mind the pain became too much. Emma collapsed on the ground.  
  
"Get her!" Eckhart called to his agents.  
  
Rushing forward Adam knew he had to get to Emma before they did or she was as good as dead. Just as he reached her so did two of the GSA agents. Before Adam could do anything a bolt of electricity knocked the one man off his feet while the other was sent flying by a feral kick to the chest.  
  
"Get her out of here Adam, we'll handle this garbage."  
  
Picking up Emma's limp form Adam ran to the Double Helix while the other three kept the GSA agents at bay. When the battle was no longer in their favor they ran for the transport, Brennan sending out one last bolt of electricity before the door shut and they were off into the safety of the sky. With Jesse at the controls they headed back to the Sanctuary as fast as they could. Emma's life depended on it.  
  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X 


	5. Chapter Four

Blood Price - Chapter Four  
  
  
Adam hadn't moved in the last six hours.  
  
When they'd first returned to the Sanctuary Emma's condition had been critical, and it hadn't changed since. He'd done everything he could; run every test simulation to try and help her but even he had been forced to admit defeat. There was nothing Adam could do to help her, this fight was entirely in Emma's hands. So he sat by her side, watching, waiting for her to wake up, fearing that she may never wake up at all.  
  
Time and again the three friends tried to convince Adam to take a moment away from her side, to eat or drink something; he refused. And there, by Emma's side, he had sat for the last six hours. It wasn't until the seventh hour that his patience was rewarded. Curling her fingers in reflex Emma slowly began to stir. Blinking, trying to focus her eyes, she slowly opened them to see Adam standing over her, looking down, his face filled with concern.  
  
"How do you feel?" he asked softly.  
  
"My head hurts," she whispered.  
  
He smiled. "I'll bet it does." Turning away from her for a moment Adam reached for a syringe on the table. "This will help the pain, but it won't get rid of it I'm afraid." Injecting her with the medicine Emma could feel the pain subsiding. "What do you remember?" he asked of her.  
  
She glanced around the room nervously. "Not much really. Nightmares mostly."  
  
Leaning against the chair he stared down at her. "What kind of nightmares?"  
  
Emma could still picture them in her head, Adam leaving her at Genomex, walking away from her in the park, stabbing her with his lips still pressed to hers. Against her will tears began to fall from her eyes, silent drops of pain that was still so fresh in her mind. Shaking her head she couldn't bring herself to say it. Seeing the tears Adam grew concerned and reached out to take her hand but Emma shrank away from him, cringing.  
  
"Please don't," she whispered, her voice filled with pain and fear. "Please don't touch me."  
  
Hurt, confused, Adam withdrew his hand. She began to sob, covering her face with her hands and rolling away from Adam, curling herself into a fetal position. In the doorway Adam saw the three friends watching, their eyes filled with concern at the sight of Emma. As one they moved forward, surrounding her chair, trying to help. Sensing them she opened her eyes and they grew wide in fear when she saw the team standing around her.  
  
Her mind replaying her nightmares Emma lashed out, running from the lab before they could recover. Worried the team ran after her, each one calling to her as they searched the sanctuary. There were only so many places she could go and they were going to search them all. Her mind yelling at her to trust her friends her heart cried at the thought of being near them as it remembered the visions from her nightmares.  
  
Hunched down in the corner of a small closet, her hiding place for the last few hours, Emma shook when she heard the footsteps in the hallway. They stopped and a few moments later the door opened softly, slowly. A man she had never seen before squatted down to meet her at eye level. His long gray hair made him look like a man trying desperately to recapture his youth. Not saying a word he held his hand out to her, his eyes kind and his smile easy. Waiting as long as she needed Jack's smile grew when she took his hand and emerged from the closet. Her hand in his they walked out to the water garden and sat down on the wooden block.  
  
"My name is Jack," he said softly.   
  
"I'm Emma," she whispered after a few moments.  
  
"I know," he grinned. "It's nice to finally meet you face to face. I've been reading you for so long I feel like I know you already."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I'm a telepath. But I have honed my skills so that I can read people even at a very long distance. When you were taken to the GSA Adam asked me to make sure you were okay. I know that you were in pain and I know that they did something to you to make you become one of them." From the corner of his eyes Jack saw the four team members watching, listening. "I also know about your nightmares, Emma."  
  
Emma glanced up at him in surprise. "You didn't tell Adam did you?" she worried.  
  
"Do you not want me to?" Jack asked, evading the question.  
  
"He can't know," she cried, worried that he had told Adam already. "He'd get so mad! Please, you can't tell him."  
  
"I won't tell Adam if you promise to tell me, right now, about your nightmares."  
  
"But you said you already knew."  
  
"I do know. But the nightmares aren't really nightmares, Emma." Jack could see the confusion on her face and explained. "Up here, in your mind, you know that Adam and your friends would never hurt you. But here, in your heart, you can still feel the fear and the pain of what you remember in your nightmares. When Eckhart had you at the GSA he programmed your mind with a system he developed several years back. Like watching a movie, you saw everything happen, you saw what Eckhart programmed you to see and remember so that when the time came he could train you to work for him and to trust him."  
  
"You mean like brainwashing?"  
  
"More complex than that, but essentially yes. When you were programmed all the good memories of your life here were blocked. But when you saw Adam they began t resurface and that was what caused you to black out. Even now you can still remember both, can't you?" Emma nodded. "The good things you remember as being truth but the bad things you remember like a dream. We need to figure out what they are so that you can recognize them as programming and not nightmares. That way you can hate the person who's responsible for them, not the one who stars in them."  
  
Taking a deep, shuddering breath Emma looked at Jack. "How?"  
  
"By letting Adam help us. He has a machine that will portray whatever your thinking. If the memory is a true one then the machine will blink the green light. If it's a false memory, one that was programmed into your mind, the machine will flash a red light. That way you can see everything and know which one is real and which one is fake. Will you let Adam help us?"  
  
Looking down Emma couldn't decide, her heart saying one thing, her head another. From the corner of her eye she saw Adam approach and stop several feet away from her. Looking up she met his sad brown eyes and Emma couldn't look away. "Let me help you Emma."  
  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X  
  
  
Sitting in the chair Emma stared at the wires that were hanging from her head and chest. Before her a blank holoscreen hung in the air waiting for the first memory to be called up. Looking off to one side she saw Jesse, Shalimar and Brennan waiting, watching her, hoping that this would work.   
  
"All right," Jack said from his seat next to Emma. "Why don't we start with a good memory, something you good remember about Adam."  
  
Instantly the holoscreen flashed to life and they all saw Emma sitting by the water garden, Adam next to her, holding her hand. "I remember that. It was just after I'd been split in two." On the machine the green light came on confirming that it was a real memory. "We sat there for a minute and then he walked away."  
  
Her words sparked another memory and the holoscreen flashed up a new image. Emma and Shalimar were fighting. Emma called up every tactic she could think of to get away, all the while trying to calm Shalimar down. 'Shalimar, come on, it's me, Emma! I don't want to fight you!' she cried to her friend.  
  
'Then you shouldn't have left Mutant X!' Shalimar growled back, landing a punch to Emma's jaw. Falling to the ground the last thing she saw was Adam, walking away from her, calling his team to come with him. He was leaving.  
  
The light on the display panel flashed red and Emma looked to Jack. "It's not a true memory, Kiddo. That's one of the programmed ones Eckhart planted in your mind. You never fought Shalimar, they never left you lying in the park."  
  
Turning he head Emma looked over her shoulder to see Shalimar staring back at her with wide eyes. "Emma I would never..." she said, not knowing how to continue her thoughts.   
  
Smiling weakly at her Emma turned back to face the screen. Shalimar's words had sparked up another memory and it played itself out on the screen. The four friends were standing on a street corner, the night sky ablaze with neon lights, laughing and joking with each other as they walked towards their ride back to the Sanctuary. The display flashed green and Emma smiled. She remembered that one too.  
  
"All right, Emma, lets get back to work on the programmed memories. Can you remember another bad one?"  
  
All six people watched as Adam stormed into a lab, toward Emma who was sitting at the desk working. 'Are you done yet?' he mocked. 'I could have had this done three hours ago.'  
  
'I'm sorry, Adam, I'm working as fast as I can,' Emma began. Adam slammed his fist down onto the table and Emma jumped in her skin.  
  
'Well that's not good enough you little freak! Get the hell out of my lab!'  
  
Through teary eyes Emma watched as the display flashed red. It was false, that had never happened. Looking first to Jack to confirm it she looked at Adam after Jack had nodded. His deep brown eyes were a mixture of disbelief, pain, and sadness as he stared at the final image on the display. Glancing at Emma he didn't know what to say. "I..." Adam was at a loss for words but his silence, his shock, was enough for Emma. He hadn't done it; he hadn't mocked her, yelled at her. But what about...  
  
Another image flashed up on the screen and they all watched as Emma's memories played themselves out in a rapid succession, one after another, the beating, the yelling, the anger, and the pain. As the last one hung in the air tears were streaming from Emma's eyes. Each one had flashed up red. They were all fake, each and every one of them. Her heart was lifted at the thought that the nightmares were not true, that Adam had never hurt her, never tried to kill her. Turning in her seat Emma looked to where Adam had been standing but he was gone. She saw his fleeing back as he left the main room, shoulder hunched under the pain of everything he had just witnessed.  
  
Disconnecting the wires Emma went in search of him, she knew exactly where he would go. Down the hallways, around corners, Emma wandered until she came to the skylight of the Sanctuary. At the very top of their hidden home you could see the stars shining down through a large skylight in the roof. There, on the bench seat at one end of the room, sat Adam, his head in his hands as he bent over, trying to deal with everything he had just witnessed. Silently she padded over to his side, sitting down a little ways away from him. Lifting his head too look at her Emma was shocked to see the tear resting on his dark lashes.  
  
"Emma, I..."  
  
Adam stopped. He didn't know where to begin or how to apologize for the hell that Eckhart had forced onto her brain. He had witnessed Emma being beaten by his own hands, the tears in her eyes as he had berated her over the littlest thing. But most of all, every time he closed his eyes, he saw her, lying on the ground, bleeding from a knife he himself had put into her side.  
  
Taking his hand in hers Emma gently leaned her head on his shoulder. Neither of them said a word, just sitting side by side for some time. Finally Emma spoke, her eyes staring up at the stars above.  
  
"He knew that I loved you and he used it against me. He wanted me to trust him instead of you. But in the end he couldn't. I forgot you for a little while but when I remembered who you were there wasn't anything that could stop the memories from surfacing. When I walked out between you that day I was trying to get to you, Adam. I was trying to get away from Eckhart and get to you. Even with all the nightmares that I remembered I knew you were the one that would help me."  
  
They fell into silence again but Adam's heart had been lifted. She was beginning to trust him again, to see past the hell that Mason Eckhart had put her through.  
  
"Adam," she whispered.  
  
Turning his head Adam looked at Emma as she stared up through the skylight at the stars. "Yes?"  
  
"How do you do it?"  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"How do you live with the guilt of knowing that you've done some terrible things to innocent people?"  
  
Adam closed his eyes. He knew exactly what she was talking about. Emma had been a GSA Agent; she'd done things to other New Mutants that would haunt her for the rest of her life. While Adam didn't know the full extent or the details of everything he knew the kind of work Mason would have made her do and he knew that Emma's conscious would never be able to live with the guilt of the thing she had done while under Eckhart's control.  
  
"By doing everything you can to make it right again. By living each day doing as much as you can to make the world a better place for everyone. And by always remembering that you had no control over what happened while you were programmed."  
  
Pulling her legs under her Emma leaned against Adam as she stared out the skylight. Putting his one arm around her Adam held her tight, his mind drifting back to the painting from the gallery. Emma's innocence had been ripped away by Eckhart's programming. The storm clouds had rolled in over her beautiful day, bringing the blackness of guilt and pain with it. But there was always a silver lining to every cloud. Sitting there, with Emma in his arms, Adam knew she would find hers soon enough.  
  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X  
  
  
Sitting up in her bed, trying to catch up on the missed months in her diary, Emma looked up when a knock resounded on her door. Bidding the person on the other side to come in she smiled when Adam entered, telling her to close her eyes. Curious she did as he asked. While her eyes were closed she felt Adam join her on the bed and put his arm around her waist. "Open them," he whispered to her.   
  
Opening her eyes Emma was shocked to see the painting that was set on the desk, a picture perfect little girl in a white dress, leaning against the wall. "How did you get it?" she breathed, looking up into Adam's deep brown eyes.  
  
"A little bird told me it might be for sale so I bought it. This way you can always have a piece of your family close by."  
  
The look on Emma's face was worth every penny Adam had spent on acquiring the painting; the finagling that had gone on between himself and the dealer. She looked back to the painting; her eyes wide open in delight and wonder at the gift that Adam had given her. Turning back to the man sitting by her side Emma smiled at him. "Thank you Adam," she whispered.  
  
Turning his face from the painting to look at Emma Adam's face was mere inches from hers, so close he could feel her breath hitting his face, the smell of her perfume titillating his nose. It was all Adam could do to not close the distance between them, covering her lips with his. But he held back, not wanting to press her until she was ready. It had been a month since she had returned to the Sanctuary, a month since he had learned the hell Eckhart had put her through. There were still nights when she would wake, screaming from the nightmares that played out in her head. And more than once he had found her roaming the hallways unable, unwilling, to sleep.  
  
When he found her they would always talk, never about work or the GSA, but about everything else. Slowly, little by little, Adam had warmed her heart to him again, proving over time that she could trust him, proving it time and again until her heart said the same thing as her mind. And now, sitting in her room, side by side with him, Emma knew that both her heart and her mind were of one decision again. Knowing he would not, Emma closed the distance between them, laying claim to Adam's lips as she had in his mind so long ago. Raising her hand Emma lost her fingers in his soft locks.  
  
Closing his eyes Adam lost his hands in her hair, pulling her to him with a passion that had been smoldering over all the months she had been gone from his life. As they lay back on her bed he crushed her beneath him, lost in the feel of her hands in his hair. Pulling back for a moment Adam stared down at her, the fragile young woman who was beneath him. He needed to be sure, for her to be sure that this was what she wanted, that she was ready. What he saw in her eyes was more than enough for him.  
  
Together Adam and Emma fell into each other, lost in the love that had been denied its chance for too long.  
  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X  
  
  
"Has anyone seen Emma?"  
  
Jesse looked up from his console to see Adam standing at the top of the stairs looking down at them. From their training on the platform Shalimar and Brennan looked across, all three shaking their head no. "Last I heard she was going to go for a spin in the Double Helix," Brennan supplied.  
  
Frowning Adam called out to Emma. "Emma, where are you?"  
  
"I'm in the Double Helix, Adam," she replied.  
  
"Where are you going?" he asked her.  
  
Emma concentrated she checked the console. "I have to go buy something back from the devil." Cutting the comm link she smiled as she landed the Double Helix, cloaking it from view. Emerging she walked up to the front door of the large complex. Using her mutancy Emma sailed right past the guards as they shut down the security system. As she passed each checkpoint Emma blinded the men to who she really was. Once she reached her destination Emma entered the office, locking the door behind her. In silence she stood before the man sitting behind the large desk.  
  
"Agent DeLauro," Eckhart said with a small amount of surprise. "I'm shocked you were able to get away from the rebels.  
  
Emma stared at him for another moment before she slowly made her way to the desks edge. "I'd prefer it if you'd go back to calling me Ms. DeLauro. I never liked the sound of Agent DeLauro." Seeing him reach for his security button Emma smiled. "Go ahead, press it. No one will come."  
  
Coolly Mason sat back in his chair and folded his hands. "And just what is it that you want?"  
  
Emma leaned down on the desk, peering into his cold eyes. "I came to warn you." Eckhart raised his eyebrow, the only sign of surprise in his cool mask of indifference. "If you ever try to hurt my sister again, I'll kill you. Don't think that I won't. You saw firsthand that I can go the distance on my threats." Turning to walk away Emma stopped and turned back to face him one more time. "And one more thing," she said as she walked up to his side and pressed the security button on his computer. From the other side of the door they both heard the pounding of running feet heading towards the office. Emma pulled Eckhart up to his feet and away from the desk. "I suggest you don't try to come between me and Adam again... or I'll make your life a living hell."  
  
The door hissed open and guards flooded the room, weapons drawn. With one look Emma used her mutancy to convince them all that she was Eckhart and the he was she. Tossing him to the guards she ordered them to take the Emma they saw in their minds to a holding cell until further instructions. Once they were gone she slipped out the door and back to the Double Helix. Sitting behind the controls she set her destination and leaned back in the chair.  
  
It was time to go home.  
  
  
  
The End 


End file.
